The following is a description of three types of vacuum cleaners which differ in design and operation. All of them have, as common features, a motor-driven fan, a dust collection chamber, and one or more floor treatment devices which are each adapted for a particular purpose.
The canister vacuum cleaner has a housing which can be moved on the floor to be cleaned on wheels and/or runners. The housing contains the motor-fan unit and the dust collection container. The floor treatment device, here referred to as floor nozzle, is connected to the dust collection chamber via a suction hose, and possibly a suction wand connected therebetween. During vacuuming, the housing is moved to the desired position by pulling on the suction wand.
In a stick vacuum cleaner, the motor-fan unit and the dust collection container are also disposed in a housing. A suction wand extends from one end of the housing, connecting the floor nozzle to the dust collection container, and a handle used to maneuver the housing to the desired position extends from the other end.
Uprights do not have as strictly divided a configuration as the two aforementioned types. One feature of an upright is a movable base unit which carries an upper body containing a large dust collection container. The two parts are tiltable relative to each other and can usually be locked in a parked position in which the upper body is nearly upright when the base unit is located on a horizontal floor in a position of use. In this position, the upright stands unsupported. During vacuuming, the above-described locked engagement is released, and the upper body is tilted through a certain angle to an operating position. The tilt angle depends on the height of the user and on the particular purpose of use. A handle is provided on the upper body for maneuvering the entire appliance. In order to give the user additional options for vacuuming besides vacuum cleaning with the base unit, such as above-the-floor-vacuuming, the air conduit has an interface and, downstream thereof, a section which is formed by a hose or hose/wand assembly. In most designs, a wand member is held in an insertion receptacle. After removing the wand member from the insertion receptacle, different types of vacuum attachments may be attached to the suction end thereof. The assembly so formed can be used in the same manner as with a conventional canister vacuum cleaner. The aforementioned assembly uses a relatively long hose to provide adequate reach for the user (see, for example, WO 2007/008770 A1). The hose can also be flexible and extensible in length. In situations where the hose is still not long enough, the user tends to pull on the hose to cause the upright in the parked position to move off on its carriage and follow him/her. If the point of transition from the hose to the upper body, and thus the point of application of the pulling force, is located at a relatively high position, such as is described in WO 2007/008770 A1, then a moment is generated about the tip-over point, for example the two rear wheels. The upright will then tip over and may be damaged. In the vacuum cleaner described in EP 0 708 613 B1, this problem is avoided by routing the hose directly into the corresponding housing part at a very low position. As a result, the hose may kink when pulled on sideways, and in addition, the hose is easily damaged by contact with obstacles in the proximity of the floor.